The First Harley Trip, 2014 Part 9: The Road to Coeur d’ Alene

The First Harley Trip, 2014

Part 9: The Road to Coeur d’ Alene

 “30 years ago, I was serving up crank on the bar-top. Now its cheeseburgers.”……

Anonymous 1%er who survived the crank wars of the 80’s and still frequents the clubhouse.

My plan was to make the trip to Coeur d’ Alene, (CDA) in two full days. I wanted to ride through Sun Valley, Idaho and then ride through Chalis and Salmon, two small towns in Idaho that I heard about from a tough ol’ redneck neighbor of mine, Kirby Corsi, when I resided in Idaho back in 1978 through 1981.

A few hours into the day’s ride, I missed the highway that would have taken me to Sun Valley. Putting about 20 miles between me and the turn-off before I realized I had missed my turn, I decided to stick with my plan to continue on all wrong turns and see where it would take me. The decision paid in dividends too. Before I knew it, I entered a place called “Crater of the Moon National Monument and Preserve,” a United States National Monument in the Snake River Plain of Central Idaho. Somewhat surreal, Crater of the Moon National Monument is a large lava flow that has a very prehistoric vibe. One almost believes a dinosaur could appear at any moment.

Farther up the road, I found a highway that put me back in the direction I wanted to go to get to Chalis and Salmon. The road took me through the Sawtooth and Bitterroot mountain ranges, beautiful national forests, and pristine ranch and farmlands. This was real shit-kicking cowboy country. Real Marlboro Man territory; the kind of place where every truck has an “Easyrider rifle rack” and a “Goat-Ropers Need Love Too” bumper sticker.  Real Americana.

Up the road a bit and several hours later, I came to the small town of Lolo. Nothing noteworthy except for the name. In Hawaiian, “lolo” means “crazy.” Hawaiians refer to marijuana as “pakalolo,” (crazy tobacco)  or “going lolo” (going crazy.) I could only imagine what kind of crazy sheep shaggin’ shit went on in this town to earn the name.

I settled in Missoula, Montana for the night in some chain hotel. 

In the morning after finding a Starbucks, I headed west on I-90 towards CDA. CDA is a special place for me. I lived there for a short period of time after being discharged from the military. My oldest son, Eli, was born there, and my brother spent the latter part of his childhood growing up in CDA. It had been about 25 years since my last visit to CDA and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had been thinking about staying at the Wolf Lodge Campground on CDA Lake, just outside of the downtown area.

I-90 is a beautiful scenic route that takes you through miles of pine forests and mountain corridors. Close to CDA is the small historic town of Wallace Idaho. At one point in Wallace’s history it was a thriving mining town but its real notoriety and claim to local fame was Wallace’s numerous brothels (now listed as historical landmarks) that remained in operation until sometime in the early 1990s.

Another side note about Wallace is that it was home to the “other red light,” the only traffic light along the entire 3,081-mile stretch of Interstate Highway 90, stretching from Boston to Seattle. The “other red light” still hangs over the intersection of 7th and Bank Streets, although the main I-90 now bi-passes the downtown area. I made a quick stop to take a few pics and buy a Diet Coke then headed down the Fourth of July Pass and into CDA.  

I entered CDA on the east end of Sherman Ave., the town’s old main drag. Sherman is about a mile and a half long ending at CDA Lake. Riding through town, I was amazed how developed it was since my last visit 25 years ago. What was once a logging town was now a tourist town more like South Lake Tahoe.

I found a Starbucks and had a rest and a venti coffee. The weather forecast was calling for rain so I figured I better shit-can my Wolf Lodge Campground idea and find a cheap motel. Back up towards the east end of town, I found one for $49 per night. If it was good enough for the local tweekers, I figured it was good enough for me.